A Review of the Authoritative Sources of Hinduism

In Hinduism, formulating an idea or making a ruling is a very difficult task. First, it is necessary to refer to the diverse and numerous holy texts of this faith. Then, it is necessary to refer to the important philosophical schools of thought of Hinduism. Finally, one has to refer to the views of scholars, reformers and influential people of this faith. Furthermore, the researcher has to go through the various views of this faith and show to which Hindu period his findings are related, from which sacred text they are obtained, which philosophical schools support them, and who are the outstanding figures who approve them. Definitely, this is, a very difficult task and the findings are not generally accepted. The present paper seeks to review the mentioned sources and attempt to analyze them.